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Did You Know? - Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022) · Voices Of Life

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  of Voices of Life. Did you know? In 2022, the
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  Supreme Court of the United States issued a decision
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  that changed the course of American law and conscience.
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  Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization,
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  a case that overturned Roe v. Wade, returned
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  authority over abortion laws to the people and
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  their elected representatives. It was a moment
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  that ended nearly 50 years of federal precedent
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  and began a new chapter in the story of life,
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  liberty, and law within our constitutional republic.
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  Today, Pastor David guides us through this defining
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  decision, its origins, its arguments, and its
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  lasting impact on the nation. This is Voices
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  of Life. This is your Did You Know? This is Voices
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  of Life, a ministry of the Church for Life. I'm
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  Pastor David. Did you know that in 2022, the
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  Supreme Court of our Constitutional Republic
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  made one of the most consequential decisions
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  in modern history? A ruling that overturned nearly
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  50 years of precedent and reshaped the national
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  conversation about life? liberty, and law. We
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  are talking about Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health
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  Organization, the case that reversed Roe v Wade,
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  and Planned Parenthood v Casey, returning authority
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  over abortion laws to the people and their elected
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  representatives. To understand Dobbs, we must
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  first remember Roe v Wade, a case we explored
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  in a previous Voices of Life episode. In 1973,
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  Roe established a constitutional right to abortion
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  based on privacy. In 1992, Planned Parenthood
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  v. Casey reaffirmed the right but replaced the
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  trimester framework with undue burden standard.
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  For nearly three decades, those rulings defined
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  how states could regulate abortion until Mississippi
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  passed a law that directly challenged them. In
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  2018, Mississippi enacted the Gestational Age
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  Act banning most abortions after 15 weeks of
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  pregnancy except for medical emergencies or severe
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  fetal abnormalities. The law did not include
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  exceptions for rape or incest. Because Roe and
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  Casey prohibited bans before fetal viability
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  around 23 to 24 weeks, Mississippi's law directly
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  conflicted with existing precedent. The state's
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  only abortion clinic, Jackson's Women's Health
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  Organization, filed suit, and a case began its
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  journey through the courts. By 2021, the Supreme
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  Court agreed to hear the case. Mississippi argued
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  that the Constitution contained no reference
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  to abortion and that the issue should be decided
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  by elected legislatures. The clinic argued that
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  overturning Roe and Casey would undermine decades
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  of presence and affect millions of women nationwide.
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  Then came the unprecedented moment, the leak.
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  On May 2, 2022, a draft majority opinion written
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  by Justice Samuel Alito was leaked to the press.
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  It revealed that the court intended to overturn
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  Roe v. Wade. The leak sparked nationwide protests,
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  congressional hearings, and internal Supreme
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  Court investigation, a moment unlike any other
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  in judicial history. On June 24, 2022, the court
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  issued its final decision. By a vote of 6 to
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  3, it upheld Mississippi's law, and by a vote
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  of 5 to 4, it overturned Roe and Casey entirely.
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  Justice Alito wrote for the majority. The Constitution
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  does not confer a right to abortion. The Court
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  reasoned that the abortion is not mentioned in
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  the Constitution and is not deeply rooted in
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  this nation's history and tradition. The ruling
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  returned authority over abortion regulation to
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  the states and Congress. writing together that
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  the majority had eliminated a constitutional
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  protection recognized for nearly 50 years. They
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  warned that the decision would profoundly affect
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  women across the country and weaken respect for
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  the president. Their closing words were somber.
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  With sorrow for this court, but more for the
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  many millions of American women who have today
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  lost the fundamental constitutional protection,
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  we dissent. Now remember we talked in a few podcasts
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  ago about Marbury v. Madison, and we talked about
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  things that were not in the Constitution, but
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  the Supreme Court ruled anyway. Well, Roe v.
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  Wade was one of those rulings, and so was the
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  other one in 1992. There's nothing in the Constitution
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  that talks about it, nothing in the Constitution
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  that gives the federal government authority over
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  it. So, in this case, the court went ahead and
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  acknowledged it and said, yep, we can't do it.
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  And therefore, here the states and Congress have
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  control back to making the laws, which is what's
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  supposed to happen, not the courts. The courts
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  are not supposed to make laws. They're not supposed
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  to even really interpret them or put in precedences
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  that stop things that are contained in our laws.
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  This is one of those cases where it's chipping
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  away at Marbury v. Madison. But this decision
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  had immediate impact. The decision triggered
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  changes. Several states had trigger laws ready
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  to take effect, banning or restricting abortion
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  as soon as DOBS was decided. Other states expanded
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  access, creating a patchwork of laws across the
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  nation. The ruling reignited debates about federalism,
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  judicial philosophy, and the meaning of liberty
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  in a constitutional republic. Dobbs v. Jackson
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  Women's Health Organization stands as a turning
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  point in American legal history. It reminds us
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  that the constitutional interpretation shapes
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  not only law but culture, and that every generation
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  must wrestle with how they balance the rights,
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  responsibilities, and moral conviction. Thank
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  you for joining us on this Voices of Life Did
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  You Know episode. I'm Pastor David. We hope this
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  journey has deepened your understanding of how
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  Dobbs connects to Roe v. Wade and continues to
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  influence our Constitutional Republic today.
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  Until next time, stay encouraged, stay informed,
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  and stay faithful. Thank you for joining us for
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  this Voices of Life Did You Know? episode. Dobbs
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  v. Jackson Women's Health Organization marked
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  a turning point in the history of our Constitutional
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  Republic, ending nearly 50 years of federal precedent
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  and returning the question of abortion laws to
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  the people and their elected representatives.
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  As we shared in our Roe v. Wade episode, these
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  decisions are more than legal milestones. They
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  shape culture, conscience, and the ongoing national
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  conversation about life, liberty, and the role
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  of government. On behalf of Pastor David, we
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  hope today's journey has strengthened your understanding
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  of how Dobbs connects to Roe, and why both cases
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  continue to influence our nation today. Until
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  next time, stay encouraged, stay informed, and
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  stay faithful.